SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

THE COMMUTE: Every time we look around, a new street is co-named. Often, we have no idea who the individual was. Okay, if it is for Police Officer X, or Firefighter Y, we can conclude they died in the line of duty. How about the others? Their names will only be known to family and friends, unless the person was famous or a local community activist. So what does honoring the vast majority of these people accomplish? Absolutely nothing. It wastes scarce city funds and causes confusion to motorists, possibly even resulting in accidents.

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Source: mehjg / Flickr

Alternate side of the street parking regulations for street cleaning will be suspended Thursday and Friday, September 26-27 in observance of Shemini Atzereth and Simchas Torah. All other regulations, including parking meters, shall remain in effect. You can download your own 2013 Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar — in English, as well as in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish (all PDFs) — from the NYC DOT’s website.

Marty Golden, (Photo By Erica Sherman)

State Senator Marty Golden is hosting a town hall meeting tomorrow night for people in Sheepshead Bay, Manhattan Beach and Gerritsen Beach who were affected by Superstorm Sandy. Brooklyn News is reporting that Golden has invited a slew of officials representing various city, state and federal agencies to interact with attendees and answer questions relating to the continuing recovery effort.

Brooklyn News listed the agencies that the officials will be culled from as well as Golden’s remarks encouraging residents affected by Sandy to make it to the meeting:

Senator Golden will welcome officials from Build It Back, National Flood Insurance Program, Small Business Administration, The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Financial Services, The Army Corps of Engineers, The New York City Department of Buildings, The Health Department, City of New York, The New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and The New York City Department of Transportation.

“Almost 11 months after Hurricane Sandy, many residents still need help with rebuilding, insurance, and getting back on their feet,” said Senator Golden (R-C-I). “I urge all residents of my district who are still facing Hurricane related issues to come to this meeting and take advantage of all the different agencies present. By working together, we can make sure that all those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy get their lives and homes back to normal.”

The meeting is schedule for tomorrow, September 25, at 7 p.m. at Public School 277 located at 2529 Gerritsen Avenue.

Source: retrofresh! via flickr

It’s been nearly a year since Superstorm Sandy and there are still stretches of the Belt Parkway bathed in darkness as a result of the storm. CBS NY is reporting that overhead lights near Knapp Street and Flatbush Avenue remain damaged, creating dangerous driving conditions for motorists.

Since Sandy struck late last October, Sheepshead Bites has received numerous complaints about the non-functioning lights along the Belt Parkway. According to CBS, 150 lights went dark after the electrical system that operates them got destroyed in Sandy’s wake.

Councilman Lew Fidler is taking the charge, arguing that it is about time that the lights get fixed:

“This is starting to get dangerous,” City Councilman Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn) told [CBS reporter Tamara] Leitner.

Fidler said he reached out to the New York City Department of Transportation seven months ago, but he is still waiting for the problem to be fixed.

“It’s just going to take one accident and one lawsuit,” Fidler said. “It’s going to cost the city more money than replacing the lighting from scratch.”

The Department of Transportation told CBS that they are working to bring in temporary lighting in the coming weeks. The also defended themselves by saying they can’t replace the broken lighting system until federal dollars start to roll their way.

Better late than never, I guess?

The “roof” of a succah. Source: *DragonCid / deviantART

Alternate side of the street parking regulations for street cleaning will be suspended Thursday and Friday, September 19 and 20, in observance of the holiday Sukkot. All other regulations, including parking meters, remain in effect. You can download your own 2013 Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar — in English, as well as in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish (all PDFs) — from the NYC DOT’s website.

“Rabbi Blowing Shofar” (oil on canvas) by Carole Spandau

Alternate side parking regulations for street cleaning will be suspended this Saturday, September 14, in observance of Yom Kippur. All other regulations, including parking meters, shall remain in effect. You can download your own 2013 Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar — in English, as well as in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish (all PDFs) — from the NYC DOT’s website.

Source: DOT

Who would have ever imaged that the Department of Transportation’s ambitious Seven Bridges project would be ahead of schedule? Way back when the project began in 2009, our readers and community leaders expressed concern that the seven-year plan would stretch into the long haul.

But, gift of gifts, the reconstruction project is one year ahead of schedule, according to DOT authorities.

In an e-mail update on the project, their outreach team wrote:

Miscellaneous punch list work remains, but no restrictions of traffic are anticipated outside of the daily, permitted lane closures through the completion of the project in October 2014. NYCDOT would like to thank the public and motorist for their patience and we are glad to report that the project is a year ahead of schedule.

The agency expects to hit the latest milestone on Wednesday, August 21, when they will announce all major work is officially complete on the first three bridges: Paerdegat Basin, Rockaway Parkway and Fresh Creek Basin, covering the bridges between exits 11 and 14.

Meanwhile, work will soon begin on the dismantling of the next batch of bridges, eventually seeing the replacement of the Nostrand Avenue Bridge, Gerritsen Inlet Bridge, Mill Basin Bridge, and Bay Ridge Avenue Bridge.

Click to see illustrations of proposed Nostrand Ave Overpass

As we wrote in 2010:

The plans show the DOT is emphasizing increased safety, traffic flow, design aesthetics, and environmental protection as they go forward with the project.

Though the three bridges currently being worked on are the largest projects, commuters and boaters will likely experience the largest impact at the Mill Basin Bridge. Built circa 1940, the drawbridge has a 35-foot clearance. The new bridge will be a fixed structure with a 60-foot clearance. Lanes will be expanded by half a foot, and safety shoulders will be added in both directions. A new fender system will be installed to protect the bridge substructure from marine traffic.

Sheepshead Bay residents will also see benefits from the Nostrand Avenue overpass renovations. Currently the support columns of the three span structure blocks the view of car traffic underneath. The proposal aims to turn it into a single span, removing the supports to improve sight lines. Nostrand Avenue will be widened and realigned. Meanwhile, on the Belt itself, the road will be widened to provide safety shoulders, parapets will be installed, and the corrugated metal guide rails will be replaced with a reinforced concrete median.

The DOT has also made some alterations in response to community concerns. In Bergen Beach, residents complained that the new roadway configuration made visible to residents the rapid succession of headlights from the vehicles. The DOT has installed 392 feet of 6-foot-tall “glare fencing” to respond to the concern:

Source: DOT

What do you think of the new bridges, and how the DOT has managed the project?

Source: Golden’s office

State Senator Marty Golden wrote a letter to Joan McDonald, the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), throwing his support behind an amendment that would provide billions of dollars for Superstorm Sandy-related MTA projects.

Here are the details of the proposed amendment:

• Adds $5.674 billion to the 2010-2014 Capital Program for mitigation projects identified in response to Superstorm Sandy;
• Includes $1.6 billion in project-level adjustments in accordance with the full funding plan approved by the CPRB in March 2012, and
• Rebalances the budgets of various project classifications to reflect the current priorities and allow projects to proceed, including addressing so-called 10 percent issues.

Golden explained the importance in approving the amendment and provided more specifics on what the money would cover.

“This amendment includes $5.674 billion in transit and commuter railroad mitigation projects which will prevent or reduce water intrusion in stations, tunnels, and support facilities; fortify key infrastructure and right-of-way equipment; improve operational flexibility; and improve the overall resiliency of the MTA system and its ability to recover from major weather events and other disruptions,” Golden said in the letter to the NYSDOT.

Source: Rasbak via Wikimedia Commons

Alternate side of the street parking regulations for purpose of street cleaning will be suspended this Thursday, August 15, in observance of the Feast of the Assumption. All other regulations, including parking meters, shall remain in effect. You can download your own 2013 Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar — in English, as well as in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish (all PDFs) — from the NYC DOT’s website.

Muslims observe the conclusion of Eid al-Fitr with sweets. Now: Where da Reese’s peanut butter cups at? ReeseSource: GlobalPost.com

Alternate side of the street parking regulations for the purpose of street cleaning will be suspended Wednesday through Friday, August 7-9, in observance of Eid Al-Fitr. All other regulations, including parking meters, shall remain in effect.  You can download your own 2013 Alternate Side Parking Suspension calendar — in English, as well as in Chinese, Haitian Creole, Italian, Korean, Russian or Spanish (all PDFs) — from the NYC DOT’s website.